Shapeways is experimenting with another print material, one you've always wanted to have: Gold!

They've managed to develop a process where a gold-plating step is added to normal stainless steel 3D printing. The results, as you can see in the image above, are terrific.

The major concern with Gold Printing, is of course the cost. Gold is a lot more expensive than ABS plastic or even stainless steel. So how did Shapeways do? Pretty well, it seems. The gold is only a thin layer and thus not a lot of volume is used during the process.

Shapeways charges USD$5 as a "start up cost", with an additional USD$10 per each cubic centimetre of material after that. This combined stainless-steel + gold material charge must assume typical ratios of gold surface to overall volume. Nevertheless, it's quite a decent price, as it allows you to produce gold jewelry without breaking the bank. The pendant pictured above is priced at only USD$14.50 each, where as rings on their samples page are approximately USD$20 and a bracelet is priced at USD$40.

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has been writing Fabbaloo posts since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

Fabbaloo is a daily online publication focusing on the 3D print and additive manufacturing industries. We provide deeper analysis of developments in current and future technologies as well as corporate matters. If there’s something happening in 3D technologies, especially FDM, SLA, SLS and Stereolithography, we’ll have an opinion about it.